Mottled Emigrant and Tiny Blue flit into the book of butterflies in UAE
Two species of butterfly have been found for the first time in the UAE by naturalists who are compiling a comprehensive survey of the country’s butterflies.
The Mottled Emigrant, Ca- topsilia pyranthe, is a medium-sized, pale yellow butterfly that looks like a leaf when perched in vegetation and is common in India.
It was found on Al Noor Island, a leisure venue in Khalid Lagoon, Sharjah, where its entire life cycle has been photographed, national news agency Wam reported.
The Tiny Grass Blue, Zizula hylax, a very small butterfly from the African and Asian tropics, was found in a landscaped garden in urban Dubai.
In each case the butterflies were associated with imported plants on which they lay their eggs in their native homes and on which their caterpillars develop.
The number of identified species in the UAE stands at 57.
The plants on which the new additions probably arrived are very common in public and commercial properties. But there is a slight possibility that the Tiny Grass Blue may have expanded its range northward from Oman along with the continued greening of the UAE, or perhaps due to climate change.
The new species were identified by Dubai residents Binish Roobas and Gary Feulner, authors of a coming publication on the UAE’s butterflies.